West Ham's £4m gamble has paid off despite season coming to an end

West Ham open their new training facility at Chadwell Heath in 2019 (Image: West Ham United FC/West Ham United FC via Getty Images)

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Later the same month, Dmitri Halajko was appointed as lead coach as he was poached from Leicester City.

Three months before their appointments, the Hammers officially opened the redeveloped Chadwell Heath, which cost the club £4m and is where the youngsters had been based since the senior team moved to Rush Green.

The only games Halajko’s side have lost this season have come against professional outfits in Cheltenham Town and Exeter City in the EFL Trophy, a competition where they also saw off Newport County 5-4 at Rodney Parade.

Under Halajko, the youngsters have been scoring goals for fun. They have netted four in a game nine times in 19 league games, including a run of six games in a row and seven in eight outings.

They have also netted three times in one match on four occasions as Halajko’s 4-2-3-1 formation has paid off big time.

Players like Nathan Holland, Anthony Scully, Bernardo Rosa, Amadou Diallo, Manny Longelo and Jeremy Ngakia have all stepped up this season, alongside the emergence of talents like Ajibola Alese. Ngakia progressed so much so that he is now a part of the first team setup with David Moyes.

West Ham during the break

The 18s were also having a superb season, sitting second in their division and were unbeaten at their home ground of Little Heath all season long under coaches Mark Phillips and Kevin Keen.

The new facilities have enabled West Ham to attract prolific youngsters too, showcased when they signed Mipo Odubeko from Manchester United last November ahead of a host of other clubs.

(Image: Arfa Griffiths/West Ham United FC via Getty Images)

He scored seven goals in six outings since then, and has one appearance off the bench for 23s - he scored with his first touch.

But now, it’s all over for the year.

Last Friday, the curtailing of the season for club’s under-23s and under-18s was confirmed and it was no surprise as the game still struggles to find a way back having been absolutely crippled by the coronavirus pandemic.

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How the campaign finishes will be decided at a later date, whether there will be promotions or relegations the main focus, especially for the Hammers. All they can do now though is sit back and wait.

The “Academy of Football” moniker that adorns the walls of West Ham had become a bit barren in recent years, especially between Reece Oxford breaking through and then Declan Rice emerging as the next young star.

But the Hammers can look back on the 2019/20 campaign, what there was of it, with a degree of satisfaction that their gamble they took last summer has paid off.